After distributing last Sabbath’s Bible Study [July, 4, 2020], someone contacted me via WhatsApp to discuss the nature of the Godhead. He was truly grateful to receive the study-links from a friend and wanted to meet the presenter. This brother came with all guns blazing, so to speak, and took command of the conversation showing how silly it is to believe in this Roman Catholic Trinity doctrine. I asked him a few questions as he expounded on how the Bible teaches that Jesus ALONE is God, and he exalts ONLY Jesus, thus forsaking both the one we call “The Father,” and the other one called “The Holy Spirit,” for in Him (Christ) confides all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and for this reason, Jesus is all and in all!
Then he was ready to make his home-run charge with the final death-nail on this Roman Catholic Trinity doctrine. Below is my message to his inquiry, before we had the phone conversation, comprising this testimony:
Br. Garrick, Tuesday, July 7th:
I have looked at the doctrinal idea that there are not “three persons” or representatives that make up the Godhead, and can’t accept as authentic based on all that I see in the Sanctuary:
- The mercy seat shows the Father’s presence overshadowed by two covering cherubims
- The High Priest officiates before the Father’s throne
- The Shekinah is a symbol of the presence of His Spirit, which we understand to be The Holy Spirit.
That there is a “Catholic Trinity” is not surprising to me, for Satan is NOT an originator but only a liar! IF he had simply presented the three-god doctrine without knowledge of the government of Heaven, then he would have been an originator, but he has been a liar from the beginning. [That] there is a satanic trinity or trio, is fundamental to Scripture. The Dragon, the beast, and the False Prophet immediately come to mind, and Satan has operated in this context quite frequently.
When Jesus (Y’shuah) says to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost), I receive that as three divine persons. Even at the creation, the Bible identified the Spirit of God which moved upon the face of the deep, showing that this was a separate yet unitary (coequal) entity with the Father. At the creation of mankind, he did a similar work, by making Adam and Eve as equals, and they twain (both) became ONE.
Here is his second message to me, expressing his disappointment to my lack of understanding the truth of Christ’s being the ONLY God:
The Brother in question, 4 hours after my above message responded:
My brother, thanks for your delayed response. To say that I’m disappointed is a gross understatement. Where do I begin? Let me start it off with your take on the baptism; as Christ Himself commanded. In the Divine command given by Christ, which I will quote verbatim: “Go ye therefore, and *teach* into Matthew 28:19]—All emphases belong to the original
He scolded me for my “delayed response,” not realizing that Sabbath are my busiest days, and I have precious little time to review any correspondences, but I took it in strides. (Smile).
Now, let’s get back to the death-nail he deployed to close the coffin on the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Trinity doctrine I and other SDA’s espouse, according to his understanding: He challenged, “the clearest evidence that the Godhead is comprised of only ONE person, namely Jesus Christ, is evidenced by that fact that the Old Testament does not teach that God has a son! “Are you sure about that,” I questioned? To which he responded, “I have searched the entire Old Testament and have not seen any mention that God has a son.” At this point, he was putty in God’s hand, because I had reserved two silver-bullets in my holster, being careful never to unleash them until the MOST opportune moment! By his admission of not having seen any mention of God’s son in the Old Testament, I knew the conversation, in terms of his opposition, was over!
Ponder this thought about the two attitudes we are faced with when we come up against TRUTH:
“When an honestly mistaken man sees the truth, one of two things happens: (1) he will either cease to be mistaken, or (2) he will cease to be honest. For he will either accept the truth or he will reject it. If he accepts it, he is no longer mistaken; if he rejects it, he is no longer honest. It is as simple as that. There cannot be such a thing as an “honestly mistaken man” who has once seen the truth.”– http://www.wordsfitlyspoken.org/gospel_guardian/v5/v5n47p4.html#:~:text=When%20an%20honestly%20mistaken%20man%20sees%20the%20truth%2C,longer%20honest.%20It%20is%20as%20simple%20as%20that.
This brother was in for a Divine awakening, one which he would not soon forget! Well, I was in Lowes Hardware store holding this conversation that required of me to open my Bible in defense of the truth that YHWH does have a Son, and so says the Old Testament. I told him, I have at least two very strong statements, but I’ll give him only one to consider, and withhold the other for another time, and if it becomes necessary I will unsheathe it as well. I asked the Brother to read Proverbs 30:4, which I’ll post here:
“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? *what is his name,* and *what is his son’s name,* if thou canst tell?”
After he read the passage, the line went dead (silent)—the silence lasted for about 35 seconds. Concerned that my WhatsApp feed had dropped the call, I removed my phone from my ear and looked on the screen to confirm whether or not we had lost signal. Noticing the lines still connected I inquired, “Are you still here?” “Yes, Brother Garrick,” he promptly replied, “I’m just reading the verse again”! Well, since I was in Lowes, I had needed some assistance from one of their specialists, and this gave the Brother on the phone much needed time to really re-read and digest the passage he had never seen before.
No spiking the football here—this brother had not yet recovered from his shock even after ten minutes. He first objected, “well, this verse does not show the “son” with a capital “S,” to indicate it was speaking of Christ, to which I told him that this approach is among the weakest of weak arguments he could offer to support his view! I told him, following this line of reasoning, you will open yourself to serious theological injury, for there are many pronouns of the Deity in Scripture (KJV) that are written in the “lower case.” Acknowledging my point, he later noted, this did not say he was alive, but it could be speaking in the future, as in prophetically that a Son would come. So, we had to do a little grammatical exercise on the present tense verb “is” in the rhetorically worded passage, being similar to Job 38 thru 41.
Though it did not overtly happen in the conversation, this brother is now left with two choices: he will either confess that he was mistaken, or he will cease to be honest with the Scriptures. I feel confident that the latter will be the case because even till now, I have not yet heard from him, as he is STILL studying to answer God’s question: “what is his SON’S name,* if thou canst tell?” It was a rather moving reality to see this very loquacious man silenced with only one verse of Scripture, as a second was rendered unnecessary. To YHWH be the glory.
In this room we have had some strong Biblical discussions, but for one reason or another some individuals are chafed by the Truth, because they would have to be honest with the facts, others have voluntarily left the room, and still, others are quietly studying like the Bereans. Whichever camp you are in, one thing is beneficial: Truth will remain Truth, no matter by whom it is advocated, for it is inerrant and can afford to be fair, ever offering itself up for critique, testing, and examination by the most learned of men or demons, knowing this first that the gates of Hell can NOT prevail against it!
When you are witnessing for Christ (Y’shuah), you will be confronted with learned individuals, you may also be confronted with dimensions of truth to which you were oblivious. Don’t be pride-filled and self-assured, but be humble and teachable, and most of all, be prayerful and discerning. There once lived a disciple by the name of Apollos, a man “mighty in the Scriptures,” yet he was not walking in the light of Present Truth. Here is his story.
“24 ¶ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” Acts 18: 24-28.
Apollos was confronted with one of two choices, (1) allow spiritual pride to overcome him, being “eloquent… and mighty in the Scriptures,” or (2), be honest and accept the authority of the Bible from people who were not as “eloquent” as he, yet were imbued by God’s Holy Spirit! We can all see the results of his choice. After that spiritual educational by the Holy Spirit, at the hands of two unassuming “tent builders,” the record of Apollos’ ministry is this: “he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.” How is it with you, friend? Will you be a faithful and TRUE witness for God? You be the judge…
To be continued… after his “delayed response” to God’s Question of questions.
The Adventist's Understanding of Prophecy 